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CCN grading guide · public

How CCN sellers grade raw books

Slabbed books carry the grader's number and a cert you can verify. Raw books are graded by the seller against this scale, and every defect on the checklist below must be declared. A declared defect is never grounds for a dispute; an undeclared one always is.

  1. 10.0GM
  2. 9.8NM/M
  3. 9.6NM+
  4. 9.4NM
  5. 9.2NM-
  6. 9.0VF/NM
  7. 8.5VF+
  8. 8.0VF
  9. 7.5VF-
  10. 7.0FN/VF
  11. 6.5FN+
  12. 6.0FN
  13. 5.0VG/FN
  14. 4.0VG
  15. 3.0GD/VG
  16. 2.0GD
  17. 1.0FR
  18. 0.5PR

Reference grades

  • 9.8Near mint / mint

    Allowed

    Nearly perfect. Flat, glossy, sharp corners, tight staples. Up to one tiny bindery tear.

    Not at this grade

    Any spine stress you can see without tilting the book. Any crease.

  • 9.4Near mint

    Allowed

    A few very small spine ticks, a light corner bend. Full gloss.

    Not at this grade

    Colour breaks. Writing. Foxing.

  • 8.0Very fine

    Allowed

    Light wear: a few spine ticks, minor corner blunting, slight gloss loss.

    Not at this grade

    Colour-breaking creases longer than 1 cm. Tears.

  • 6.5Fine +

    Allowed

    Moderate wear. A colour-breaking crease or two, some spine roll, small arrival date is fine.

    Not at this grade

    Missing pieces. Detached cover.

  • 4.0Very good

    Allowed

    Well read. Multiple creases, rounded corners, possible small tear or staple rust.

    Not at this grade

    Water damage across the cover. Missing pages.

  • 2.0Good

    Allowed

    Complete but heavily worn. Tears, writing, cover may be loose at one staple.

    Not at this grade

    Anything missing — that's Fair or Poor.

The defect checklist, defined

These are the eight boxes on every listing form. Tick everything that applies and say where it is; the photos should show it.

Spine stress / ticks
Small non-colour-breaking lines along the spine from opening the book.
Colour-breaking crease
A fold that has cracked the ink. Caps a raw book at 7.0 or below.
Corner wear / blunting
Rounded or frayed corners.
Foxing / staining
Brown spots or tide marks; usually humidity.
Tears or missing pieces
Any loss of paper. Describe size and location.
Writing / stamps
Arrival dates, names, distributor stamps.
Detached cover / staples
Cover loose at one or both staples; rusted staples.
Case scuffs / cracks
Slabs only: scratches or cracks on the holder, not the book.